Trends in natural health, exercise, pets, fashion, the occult, mourning and taxidermy span the nineteenth century. On the British throne, German born Queen Victoria influences more than one lifestyle obsession. Here are a few Victorian trends.
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Sailor Suits
In 1846, during a cruise off the Channel Islands, Victoria's four-year-old son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, wears a smaller version of the Royal Yacht sailors' uniform. The adorable outfit captures the hearts of the public.
The iconic portrait of the little prince contributes to the widespread popularity of the sailor suit for both boys and girls in several countries by the 1870s.
Stripes
In fashion and decor, stripes take on new meaning. Where previously they're associated with prisoners, servants and slaves, stripes become stylish and desirable.
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The change coincides the popularity of sailor suits. Many have stripes, such as the pinstripes on the collar of Prince Albert's suit. Pinstriped suits come into fashion for bankers and businessmen, associating stripes with prosperity.
Bathing Huts & Bathing Machines
Queen Victoria's yen for outdoor air and the seaside is inspired by husband Albert, who advocates the health benefits of sea water. A special bathing machine is constructed at Osborne Beach on the Isle of Wight, England, to give the Queen privacy when she bathes.
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Bathing machines, bathing huts or houses are built for the modesty of ladies. The lady steps into the contraption ashore. It's pulled by horses or people, or cranked into the water. She can have a private swim as desired.
While bathing huts are already in use before Victoria ascends the throne in 1837, their popularity grows with the famous machine built for the queen.
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On 14 July 1847 she writes in her journal:
"A very fine morning, & the day became again very hot.... drove down to the beach with my maids & went into the bathing machines, where I undressed & bathed in the sea, (for the 1st time in my life) a very nice bathing woman attending me."
It's also fashionable for young ladies to cluster bathing houses together, facing away from shore, and swim in a party. For maximum water therapy a lady might have a personal trainer (or two, as in pic above at far left) who throws her in the water and hauls her out.
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Women and men continue to use separate bathing areas and bath houses for ladies into the early 20th century. Mixed gender bathing is illegal in most countries before public disobedience to the ban in 1920 - 30.
Hydrotherapy or water therapy is widespread in Europe, along with mineral spa treatments and therapeutic hot and cold bathing. In Germany, a town with mineral springs or hot springs could use the word 'Bad' or 'Baden' (bath or bathing) before its name.
Outdoor activities and exercise gain popularity. Swedish physician Gustav Zander develops the first home gym. Dozens of imitators follow. Calisthenics become part of the exercise regime. The late nineteenth century lays the groundwork for fitness today.
Part of the natural health and fitness craze is unwittingly instigated by Victoria due to her great love of rich food and constant attempts of advisers to convince her to lose weight. The Queen doesn't exercise, except for snuggle time with Albert.
Inspired by Austrian royals, a rise in mountaineering almost causes extinction of edelweiss. Nature and occult find commonality in a rapid evolution of science and medicine. Hospitals start using antiseptic in the late 19th century. Survival rates after surgery rise dramatically.
Jet Mourning Jewelry
When her beloved husband Albert dies in 1861, Victoria is inconsolable. She falls into deep grief and avoids public appearances. Republicanism gains strength, but in the latter part of her reign she returns to public life and her popularity rebounds.
She wears black for the rest of her life, influencing how grief and mourning are perceived. Vast "mourning warehouses" open up. Jet jewelry is popular, especially brooches. Many have a compartment for a lock of hair or other remembrance of the person.
Little Red Pomeranian Dogs
The earliest Pomeranians, Spitz-type dogs, are white, brown or black, and about twice as big as today's Pomeranians. When Queen Victoria adopts a small red Pomeranian in 1888, the color and small size become fashionable. Breeders develop smaller and smaller dogs.
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Victoria's Pomeranian is a red sable color. Pomeranians have the widest color variety of any dog breed. Colors include white, black, brown, red, orange, cream, blue, sable, black and tan, brown and tan, spotted, brindle and blue Merle, plus combinations.
Discovery of unknown creatures and nations in the mortal world, through travelers and natural historians like Humboldt, rouse the imagination. The occult comes into the public eye. Death loses its finality if one can communicate with beloved people in another realm.
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Science creates monsters. Most people know Frankenstein: the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (1818) is inspired by dark mysterious Odenwald (Forest of Odes) in Germany, along with local legends of Castle Frankenstein and its most notorious resident.
Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula and the 1896 H.G. Wells tale The Island of Dr. Moreau emerge from scientific ideas of the 19th century. In the limelight is the never ending struggle of humans to control the forces of nature.
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Curiosity about the natural invokes interest in the supernatural. Fortune tellers appear to know all. Crystal balls, Ouija boards, seances and ordinary playing cards hold prophecies of the future, a glimpse into past lives or communication with the dead.
Prophecy is favorite Victorian drawing room entertainment. Although the Ouija board is used for divination in the 19th century, it's not connected directly to supernatural forces until the 1950s. Belief in the transmigration of souls goes back to Pythagoras (570 - 495 BCE).
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In a fertile environment of bringing nature indoors and the dead to life, the art of taxidermy rises to new heights. Queen Victoria herself has a treasured collection of stuffed birds.
Taxidermy moves from the sphere of professionals into the hands of amateurs. One of the most common forms of taxidermy is to stretch an animal's skin over a wire frame and stuff it. Usual stuffing materials were rags, straw and horsehair.
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Inexperience and experimental taxidermy creates reproductions with uneven stuffing and poor stitching. Some ghoulish vintage marvels appear today in folk museums as mystifying creatures such as snaggle-toothed mermaids and rabbits with antlers.
The legendary Wolpertinger is an elusive creature living in the forests and mountains of Bavaria, Germany. Like the bird woman Elwetritsch of the Palatinate, it's a favorite tourist attraction.
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